Filly Romance
by FoxeyHound
Summary: Scootaloo never was into sentimentality or love, finding it rather trivial and mildly gross. All that changes when she discovers new feelings for her fellow crusader.
1. Chapter I

It was a cloudless Saturday afternoon in Ponyville, a gentle zephyr making the warm and humid forecast tolerable for the inhabitants of the village. The epicenter of the town was bustling with activity; ponies shopping at the market, friends conversing with each other about anything that came to their minds, and colts and fillies laughing and playing with one another.

On the outskirts of town sat an apple farm known as Sweet Apple Acres, where inside the depths of the trees was a quaint treehouse currently occupied by three little filly friends: Applebloom, an earth pony with a red mane and tail and a yellow hide; Sweetie Belle, a unicorn pony with a mane and tail of both light purple and light pink and a snow white hide; and Scootaloo, a pegasus pony with a purple mane and tail and an orange hide. The trio dubbed themselves as "The Cutie Mark Crusaders", and their goal was to each discover their own unique and special talents so they get their cutie mark. Anytime they weren't busy with other matters, the three were together tirelessly trying to accomplish their mission, doing any job or activity they could think of.

Today was no different then any other. The three ponies sat in a circle inside the clubhouse, and were discussing their latest idea for earning a cutie mark.

"You wanna form a band?" Sweetie Belle inquired. Scootaloo nodded.

"How'dja think of that?" Applebloom asked.

"Well, I was looking for Rainbow Dash to ask her if she could finally teach me how to fly when I heard some rockin' music coming from a radio inside Sugar Cube Corner. Normally, I'd think nothing of it, but the idea of forming a band with you two hit me for no reason."

There was a moment of silence while the other two thought about the suggestion. Applebloom had a scrunched up face as she contemplated that Scootaloo thought was cute, and unknowingly cracked a small grin.

Recently she was catching herself having thoughts and feelings similar to this whenever she was around the earth filly. Every now and then she would randomly start thinking about her for a long period of time; a strange sensation inside her stomach would start whenever she spotted her friend; she occasionally finds it a little difficult to speak to her pal; her face would flush into a faint scarlet color every time she was acknowledged or complimented by her; and the tempo of her heart would increase whenever the two were close to each other. Albeit these feelings were foreign to the pegasus filly, she usually would brush them aside.

Applebloom looked up and noticed her friend in a trance. Scoot came back to reality and quickly looked away to hide her light blush. Unbeknownst to Scootaloo, Applebloom was in the same predicament. She found herself having weird thoughts and emotions about the pegasus, but, like Scootaloo, just brushed them aside.

Applebloom came back to Equestria, deciding not to mull over that issue at moment.

"Well," she started. "that does sound cool and awll, but none of us know how t'play any instr'mints."

"Doesn't mean we can't learn." Scootaloo replied.

Another quick pause in their conversation passed until Sweetie Belle chimed in. "What kind of music should we play?"

Scootaloo pondered the question briefly. "Well, what kind of music do you enjoy?"

"Pretty much anything." Sweetie responded.

"Same here." stated Applebloom.

"How about bands? Who do you like the most?"

"Rarity doesn't listen to much except for modern stuff." said Sweetie. "Ponies like Nicker Minaj and Deadmar3. She does listens to a group called Feralsmith. I really like them."

"I've heard of them, but I like music along the lines of Alice in Reigns or Neighrvana." Scootaloo said.

"Granny Smith listens to The Trotting Stones awll the time, but Ah think they're old." remarked Applebloom. "In fact, Ah'm not really intuh anythin' that old. Though eQueen is mah faverite band, even though they are old."

Scootaloo nodded in interest; she heard of the group but never really listened to them. Sweetie Belle gave Applebloom a look of mild distaste. "Meh, they're alright."

"As a foal, mah sis used t'play songs by them whenever I was in a bad mood 'n' was actin' all fussy." She paused, reminiscing. "'Equestrian Rhapsody' is still mah faverite song ever."

"I just don't like the singer 'cause he was a colt-cuddler."

"Well that ain't no reason not to like him, ya know."

Scootaloo sat in confusion. "Colt-cuddler? What does that mean?"

"What does it mean?" echoed Sweetie Belle. "You don't know?"

Scootaloo was taken aback by how she asked her question; it was as if Scootaloo didn't know the answer to two plus two. The orange filly glanced down and shook her head.

"I'm surprised you don't know this." Sweetie said. "I suppose you don't know where foals come from either."

"Stop teasin' her, Sweetie." muttered Applebloom, to which Sweetie just rolled her eyes. Scootaloo perked up slightly knowing her farmer friend was defending her.

"Anyway," continued Sweetie. "it's when a stallion likes another stallion, but...you know...LIKES them."

The was an air of silence briefly. "Okay...and what exactly is wrong with that?"

"Ain't nuthin' wrong with it."

"Perhaps not," Sweetie commented. "But I feel that it's just unnatural. Rarity always says that only stallions and mares should be together, and that colt-cuddlers and filly-foolers are immoral."

"Filly-fooler?" Scootaloo asked.

"Same thing, except it's mares liking other mares." explained Sweetie Belle.

"That's so typical of Rare; everything needs t'be proper and whatnot. Applejack, Big Mac, 'n' Granny Smith say it don't matter who ya like, b'cause love is love, 'n' ya can't help who ya fall for. What would y'do if Scootaloo said she liked mares? Huh? Just stop bein' her friend?"

The pegasus scooted back a little, not wanting to be a part of the confrontation that was imminent. Sweetie Belle was stumped, thinking of how she should answer Applebloom's question.

"Umm...I'd...I'd—"

"Ah cannot b'lieve you, Sweetie!" Applebloom interrupted.

"You didn't even let me finish!" spat Sweetie.

Their argument progressed and continued, but Scootaloo just tuned them out and began thinking to herself, looking down at the wooden floor. The pegasus filly was never into feeling any sort of sentimentality or affection, and much less into displaying it. Sure, she felt love; she loved Rainbow Dash. Then there the love for her family and friends. She just felt that those ponies should just know that she loves them without her having to express it verbally or physically. She also felt that romance and love were not as important as other aspects of life, such as friendship and health. This time, however, the topic somehow didn't seem as trivial as she usually thought it was.

_I'm not sure what to think of this _Scootaloo thought. _But it seems like Applebloom is making more sense than Sweetie Belle is. After all, love is love, just like she said._

Scootaloo looked up; her two pals were still in the middle of their quarrel. _What if...What if I'm a "filly-fooler"? _wondered the orange filly. She thought for a moment, trying to think of a time where she felt more love and affection for a filly than what she regularly felt. Of course, she found no memories of attraction to a filly or a colt. It was a bit difficult for her to tell, though; she didn't exactly know how one feels when you love somepony in a romantic way.

Applejack's hollering voice outside the clubhouse interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Applebloom!" the orange and blond mare called. "You didn't finish awll your chores, missy! Git your little flank out here!"

"Oh shoot!" Applebloom exclaimed. "Sorry, girls. Ah musta forgot to do some o' mah chores. Ah'll see y'all later!"

"Aww, alright. See ya." Scootaloo said, unintentionally sounding despondent. Hearing this, Applebloom glimpsed back at her friend to see a tiny hint of sadness on her face. Curiosity flooded her mind yet again.

Sweetie tried looked calm, hiding her irritation caused by their argument. "Buh-bye."

The little farmer strolled out of their headquarters, leaving the two other crusaders in there. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air about a minute before Sweetie Belle cleared her throat.

"Well..." Sweetie spoke softly. "I think we should put the crusading off until later on tonight when we have our sleepover."

Scootaloo had forgot all about The Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres they were having that night. She simply nodded in agreement with Sweetie Belle and, after exchanging their farewells, went their separate ways.

The orange filly was filled with different thoughts and questions, even though she didn't want to dwell on something she always found to be insignificant. _I guess at some point I'll have to be concerned with love._ Scootaloo thought to herself as she started walking back home. _Those I know who are "together" seem very happy. Not that I need somepony else to make me feel better and happier. Yet...It looks like it would be nice to have somepony like that who's by my side no matter what and who loves me...Like..."loves" me._

Scootaloo let out a sigh. Not wanting to pore over this romance stuff, she decided just to forget about it for the time being. Her living room couch was calling for her to just lay down and relax, to take a nap so that she's rested enough to pull an all-nighter at the sleepover.

_I'm just a filly, anyway. I don't need to be looking for the love of my life or anything when I'm so young._

She picked up the pace to a mild trot, trying to reach her house quicker, and trying to escape the inevitable thoughts about her friend that she usually gets when they leave.

Unfortunately for her, they caught up.

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_Scootaloo sure was actin' kinda strange _mused Applebloom as she started walking back to her farmhouse. _Matter'uh fact, she's been actin' funneh for a lil' while now. Wonder what's on her mind that's makin' her like this. _

The filly recalled what had happened, gazing up toward the sky a bit. _She sure looked down when ah told 'em ah had to git goin'. Like she'd lost something dear to her. And maybe it was jus' me, but ah thought I saw a blush when I caught her lookin' at me...Lookin' at me with a tiny grin on her face...Why was she gazin' and grinnin' at me? Not that ah mind, she has quite a cute smile. _Applebloom looked in front of her and lightly shook her head. _Cute? Land sakes, not again with these thoughts. They ain't no way to think of your best friend—_

"Somethin' on your mind, sugar cube?" the older sibling asked, interrupting Applebloom's reflective daze.

"Oh, it's nuthin' sis." she replied, trying to sound nonchalant. Her sister wasn't fooled, though.

"Ya sure?"

Applebloom puffed a sigh; she knew it was useless lying to the Element of Honesty.

"Well...It's just..." the filly muttered.

"Just what?" prodded Applejack.

"Maybe it's jus' me, but lately Scootaloo's been actin'...different..."

"How so?"

"It ain't much; she's still herself 'n' awll. But ah can't help but notice lil' things that are...unlike her...Like she hesitates a lil' when she's talkin' tuh me. 'N' sometimes I catch her starin' at me. Whenever ah catch her doin' it, she'll look away real fast like, pretendin' she wasn't eyeing me."

Throughout the description of Scootaloo's behaviors, Applejack couldn't help herself from slowly forming a smirk on her face. "Oh lordy..."

Applebloom looked up to her sister. "What is it?"

"You're gonna be surprised, but ah think lil' Scootaloo has a lil' crush on ya."

Applebloom's eyes widened. "What?"

Applejack chuckled. "Ya heard me, Applebloom."

As Applejack had told her, the filly was absolutely stupefied. "Are ya sure, Applejack?"

"Sugar cube, ah've been down that road before and been on both sides of the field. Ah know what it looks like and how it feels. Especially how it feels..." Her voiced trailed off as her rainbow maned friend flooded her thoughts briefly. She quickly composed herself and continued. "Truth be told, ah ain't surprised that she's a filly-fooler; she is very tomcoltish, even if that is...darn, what's the word ah'm lookin' for...stereo...something or other. Anyway, jus' trust me when ah say that your friend's caught the lovebug from ya." With that, Applejack playfully nudged the filly, wearing a pleased smirk.

Applebloom was truly ambivalent about the situation. It sounded so unreal to her, but Applejack was very wise and was hardly ever wrong about these sort of things.

A minute of silence passed as the filly was processing the information. Applejack broke the silence with a single question.

"...Do you like her?"

The question rendered the filly speechless for a while, flabbergasted that she was just asked such a thing. "Well, yeah sure ah like her..."

"Ya know what ah meant..."

Applebloom looked down at her hooves and stopped. All the emotions she was having lately made sense to her now. She looked up at her sister and frowned a little bit. "...Ya don't hate me now...Do ya?"

"Awww, sugar cube...C'mere." Applejack offered her sister a gentle hug—which Applebloom gladly accepted. "Of course ah don't. Ah've told you before, hun...It don't matter who ya like, because love is love."

Applebloom had her muzzle buried lightly into her sister's neck. "Ah know ya have...Ah was just makin' sure...Thanks, AJ..."

"No problem, sugar cube."

Applejack broke their embrace and gave her little sister a small kiss on the head. "Now let's git back to the farm, 'fore Granny Smith starts to worry." She started to walk but halted and looked back at Applebloom. "'N' don't think this lil' lovey-dovey moment gits ya outta doin' your chores."

Applebloom grumbled, and they went on their way. The filly felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, a weight that she hadn't realize was there until it was gone. Her head was swimming different thoughts and emotions; there was, however, one thought that stood out from the rest.

_...Why ME of all ponies...?_

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Scootaloo sauntered through the front door of her house into the living room, where she lived with her father, Scooter, and her mother, Lulu. The former, a white haired stallion with an orange hide, looked at her from the couch and smiled.

"Hey, Scoots."

"Hi, dad. Where's mom?"

As if on cue, Scootaloo's mother—a mare with purple hair and an apricot hide—strolled into the living room.

"Oh, hi dear. How come you're home so soon?"

"Applebloom had to do some chores. We're still gonna hang out and spend the night at the farm."

Her mother was ready to reply with something, but couldn't help but notice the little hint of woe in her daughter's face. "Everything okay, honey?"

Scootaloo quickly tried erasing the look on her face as she replied. "Oh. Yeah, I'm alright."

Lulu didn't buy her bluff, and persisted. "Don't lie to me, honey. I can tell something's bothering you."

"Yeah, well..." Scootaloo hesitated. "I don't feel like talking about it."

"Well...alright. Well, I'll always be here to listen to you; same goes for your father, right Scooter?"

Scooter looked away from the TV to them. "Huh? OH, yep. Always here."

Lulu gave her husband an annoyed expression. "What's so captivating on the TV?"

Scootaloo didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation; instead, she went to her bedroom, locked her door, and laid down on her bed. She stretched out her limbs and sank into her mattress, shutting her eyelids.

Once again, her mind drifted to her friend.

_Dang it. Why couldn't she just have done them all in the first place? That lazy filly. We could still be thinking of ways to get our cutie marks. And I'd still be with her..._

Scootaloo opened her eyes and blinked. She had had just about enough of these foreign feelings, and wanted to know what it was, what it all meant.

_Hmm...Maybe I should go talk to mom. _The pegasus yawned a little. _Right after an afternoon nap, of course._

With that, Scootaloo rolled over on her side and soon fell asleep.

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_Celestia's sun was making it's final decent, filling the sky above orange slowly fading to indigo then black. Luna's moon would fill the sky within the next half hour or so._

_On a hilltop in Sweet Apple Acres, two little fillies were getting front row seats for the picturesque scene. It had been a long, tiresome day; not because of crusading, though. Sweetie Belle was with her sister Rarity in Manehatten visiting some relatives. Applebloom and Scootaloo decided that instead of spending the day crusading with one member short they would just hang out around town and play all day. _

_They watched "My Tiny Sapiens", went to Sugar Cuber Corner and filled themselves up with sweets (making them unbelievably hyper), took a dip in the lake for a few hours, and finally had an incredible dinner with the Apple family. All in all, the two friends chalked this up as a perfect day._

_Applebloom had suggested to watch the sunset before Scootaloo left to go home for the day, saying it was one of her favorite things to do. So the two were sitting next to each other, enjoying the final moments of the day that neither of them wanted to end._

_"Hey Scootaloo..." asked Applebloom._

_Scootaloo turned to face her. "Yeah?"_

_The farmer filly looked down a little bit. "Ah just wanted tuh say that...ah had so much fun today hanging out with you 'n' all._

_"Same here." replied Scootaloo with a smile._

_"Ah mean, I like Sweetie Belle 'n' awll, but it's just that we don't really have much in common."_

_Scootaloo chortled a bit. "Yeah, me and her don't really have much in common, either."_

_"Yeah...You, though...you're diff'rent...Ah really like ya."_

_Scootaloo couldn't help but blush at her friend's comment. "I like you a lot, too."_

_Applebloom smiled, inching closer to her friend to rest her head on Scootaloo's shoulder. The pegasus allowed her to do so, placing her left hoof behind her back, cradling her. _

_The two sat and watched the sun for a while longer, till Scootaloo looked down at her friend. Her adorable friend..._

_Applebloom looked up at her, and their eyes were locked for what seemed like forever. Eventually, both of them slowly and carefully inched their heads closer to each other. Both their heart's were pounding violently as they felt each other's warm breath. _

_Finally, they both closed their eyes, and..._

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

Scootaloo woke up with a start, her eyes bursting open, her heart thumping, beads of perspiration on her head. Realizing it was a dream and that she was in her bedroom, her breathing became more controlled and she calmed down.

Thousands of thoughts were running through her little head

_What in Equestria was that all about? Why did have such a dream? What does it mean?_

Gasping, she had her epiphany; and it hit her like a ton of bricks. How she didn't notice what this all meant before this dream, she had no idea. She couldn't believe she was so blind and unaware of it.

But she found it more believable than what she was thinking at that moment:

_I'm in love...with Applebloom...?_


	2. Chapter II

_Maybe I _was_ a little bit harsh._

The white filly was walking to her home which doubled as Carousel Boutique. Her argument with her friend earlier was pretty rough, and she pondered about the subject matter of which it was about.

Conflicted about she had always been told and what she felt was right, she let out a frustrated grunt, her hoof meeting the ground in a forceful kick. It was never a topic that was normally discussed, but whenever it was, Rarity, along with her parents, had told them that Celestia intended for only mares and stallions to be together. With that, she never questioned the issue again. Now she couldn't help but question the issue more than ever before.

_I need to talk to Rarity about this...How can she be so...so...I don't even know the right word!_

With a burst of energy, Sweetie Belle accelerated into a canter. She did not know exactly why she wanted to talk to her sister about this since she knew her opinions would be the same; but a part of Sweetie wanted to confront her and tell her that she is a narrow-minded jerk.

When she reached her home, she burst the door and immediately started looking for her sister. She heard her lavish voice in the back room. "Just a second!"

Sweetie Belle did not feel like waiting for her, so she paced over to the back room. She thought she heard another pony back there as well, but didn't think about it.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everyth—Oomph!"

The two sisters collided in the threshold. "Oh, Sweetie Belle..." started Rarity. "What are you doing here, darling, weren't you going to play with your fellow crusaders?"

"Applebloom had to do some chores, so we just decided to meet up later to crusade later."

"Oh, I see. Well I do love your company—you are my little sister after all—but I'm quite busy at the moment, so if you'll please—"

"Rare, I need to talk to you about something."

The fashionista was slightly stunned at her sister's interruption. "Well...Okay. What is it, Sweetie?"

With a deep breath, Sweetie replied; "Why do you hate gays?"

Rarity's jaw fell open. "Sweetie Belle...Why are you using such crude and...and indecent language?"

"I asked you a question, Rarity." the filly firmly stated.

This added to the older sibling's shock. "Wha...Sweetie...Why are you—"

Sweetie interrupted with a fast paced answer done in a single breath; "Applebloom and I got into a fight about filly-foolers and colt-cuddlers, and I told her that you always said it was immoral, but she told me that it doesn't matter who you love, which got me thinking about it differently on the way home and made me wonder why you and mom and dad always thought it was wrong."

It took a few moments to process all the information that was just spewed at her; when she did, her face went blank. "Oh Sweetie..." she muttered, head lowered. "I'm sorry, dear..."

"Sorry? About what, sis?"

Sweetie could decipher a look of shame and guilt on her face. "I used to tell you that whenever we were with mom and dad...But I never thought that it was right...I was just too afraid to contradict them to their faces...Father probably would have bucked me all the way to Manehatten, and mother would have just stood there and watched...with that torturous look of disappointment on her face."

She paused to collect herself for a moment. "Sweetie, I like both stallions and mares and I've known for a while; since we used to live with mom and dad. I could never tell them that, though..."

Pity flooded Sweetie. "Oh Rarity, I'll always love you. You're my favorite pony in Equestria."

Rarity looked up, and her bottom lip started to quiver. Then, a monsoon of tears poured from her eyes, and she wailed like a foal. She embraced her sister tightly. "I love you so much, Sweetie." she bawled.

"I love you too, Rarity." Sweetie replied with compassion.

Several minutes passed, which felt like several days to the two ponies. Rarity's waterworks eventually stopped, slowly fading to only little sniffles. They both heard hoofsteps coming their way from the back room.

"Rarity!" a voice full of concern called "Is everything okay? I heard y—Oh, w-why, um...Hello, Sweetie Belle."

"Hi, Twilight." she responded. Rarity quickly pulled away from their hug and turned to face Twilight, who's face was flushed and her ears flopped down. Sweetie noticed this. "Is everything okay, Twi?"

"Oh, yes, I'm certainly fine. I just came in here to see why Rarity was crying." She walked up beside the fashionista and spoke in a calm, soothing voice. "What's wrong? Are you okay, honey?"

"Oh Twi...It's nothing, I'm perfectly fine I assure you. Thank you for your concern, though."

Twilight stood there and thought of what she should say next. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Rarity breathed a sigh. "I'll tell you all about it later, baby. Do you mind if I have a private moment with Sweetie here for a moment?"

"Oh, not at all, take your time." With that, Twilight planted a very small, very soft kiss on her marefriend's cheek and retreated into the back room once again.

A brief moment of silence passed; neither of them knew what to say.

"...You and Twilight, huh?"

Rarity couldn't help but grin as she stifled a chuckle. "Yeah...For about two months actually."

"I'm happy for you, sis. You two make a cute couple."

"Thank you, Sweetie." She stood in thought for a minute. "Sweetie...Are you...You know..."

"What? No...Well, at least I don't think so."

"Well, you're real young, so don't worry about those types of things just yet." she told Sweetie, aiping away a tear from her eye with a forehoof,

"I know, but I just felt the need to ask you about this."

Rarity smiled. "And I'm so glad you did...You don't know how long I've been holding that in. It feels so wonderful to have that finally off my chest."

Sweetie beamed. "I'm glad I could help you, sis."

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Scootaloo paced back in forth inside her bedroom. She didn't want to do it, but she knew that she had to tell somepony; it would drive her insane if she didn't. All she needed was to build up the courage to do so.

For a brief moment, then filly paused in front of the mirror on her vanity.

_Come on, Scootaloo! You shouldn't be so nervous and afraid. Just look at Rainbow Dash, she isn't afraid of anything! You're gonna let something like this scare you?_

Scootaloo scowled. "No I'm not!"

So she took a deep breath, opened her door, and walked down the hallway to the living room.

She didn't see her father anywhere. "Mom, where's dad?"

"He had to go into work real quick to fix some mechanical issue at the weather factory...Or something like that, I can't remember exactly what he said was the issue."

Strolling into the kitchen where her mother was cooking dinner, the filly mustered up all of her courage inside her. "Mom...I need to talk to you about something..."

Lulu looked up, concern in her eyes and walked to the dinner table to sit down. "What is it, honey ?"

"Well, you see..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off; she wanted to make sure she worded this correctly. "Mom...You'd love me no matter what, right?"

A light chuckled exited Lulu. "Of course, Scoots, why are you asking?"

"Because...I've got something to tell you..."

A look of stern curiosity molded itself on the mare's face. "What is it, sweetheart?"

_Wow, this certainly is easier said than done...But you can do this...Just take a deep breath_

"...What do you do when you...Have a crush on somepony...?"

All seriousness vanished from Lulu's face and was replaced with an affectionate smile. "Awww, my Scoots is in love?"

"Heh, yeah, sorta..."

"Well then, who's the lucky colt?" she asked, her forest green eyes fixed on her daughter with interest.

Scootaloo gulped, looked down, and mumbled something that was just barely audible.

"Who?"

Again she mumbled. It was a little louder, but still indecipherable.

"Sweetheart, I can't—"

"APPLEBLOOM!"

Scootaloo's eyes went wide and she placed her hoof in front of her mouth right away. She shut her eyes in fear.

_This is it, Scootaloo. Mom is going to hate you now!_

Lulu just sat there and gave a sympathetic look. "Oh honey..."

"Go on, I know you hate me now. Disown me already or something." the filly uttered.

Soon the warmth of somepony else's body surrounded Scootaloo. Opening her eyes, she noticed she was in a loving hug with her mother, which she soon gladly returned.

"I would never hate you, Scootaloo. Especially over something like this." the mare cooed, consoling her daughter. The two remained enveloped for a few minutes till Scootaloo pulled away, rubbing away some tears she was silently crying.

"Thank you, mom."

"You're welcome, Scoots." replied the mare with a grin.

Although she wanted to end the conversation and the tender moment at that, there was one thing on her mind. "What will dad think?"

Lulu's smile immediately disappeared as her face went pale. "Oh...Your father...Oh dear..."

Nervousness started to settle in Scootaloo's mind. "What is it, mom?"

"Well, um..." Lulu hesitated. "Your father...Well, let's just say he doesn't really approve same-gender relationships...You could go as far as to saying he hates them and hates gays..."

Confused, Scootaloo frowned and began to worry. "What? But why?"

"I'm not so sure, he's never told me why. In fact, I'm not sure he's told anypony why. All I know is that if he found out about this, he would be pretty upset."

Scootaloo couldn't believe what she was hearing. A parent was supposed to love and support their offspring no matter what, but instead, if her dad were to find out this information, Celestia's knows what would happen.

"I suggest," started Lulu. "that this just remains a secret between you and me. Okay honey?"

It still did not make an ounce of sense to the filly. "But...But doesn't daddy love me...?"

The mother's bottom lip started to tremble, her eyes on the brink of raining tears. How in Equestria was she supposed to answer that without upsetting her daughter? Lulu had just told her daughter that her father would be furious if he found this out; she couldn't just tell her that he _does _love her without the filly not trusting her. For a moment, she just turned her head away from Scootaloo and closed her eyes so she wouldn't see her all vulnerable; of course, she knew Scootaloo had noticed it already.

Soon the warmth of somepony else's body surrounded Lulu. She opened her eyes to see her daughter hugging her tightly.

"It's okay, mom...I'll make sure he doesn't find out."

Relieved that her daughter just dropped the question and forgot about it, she squeezed her into a tight hug. "That would be for the best..."

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

It was late afternoon, almost time for the Cutie Mark Crusaders' slumber party. The TV in her room was on, but it didn't really serve much of a purpose; Scootaloo was paying little attention to what was happening or really what show it was, a show called Exmoory. The viewers just found out that Comet is actaully not the father of Crystal's baby foal. The roar of shocked audience ponies briefly caught Scootaloo's attention, but she quickly returned to her thoughts.

She was really peeved to hear that her father would be enraged if he found out Scootaloo liked fillies. It made her want to punch a hole in the wall.

_Aren't my parents supposed to love and cherish me no matter what? _was the only thought inside her head. In fact, she was so preoccupied with this dilemma that she failed to hear her mother call her the first two times.

"SCOOTALOO!"

With a shake of her head, Scootaloo came to her senses. She turned the TV off and headed out of her room.

"What is i—"

Her sentence was cut short at the sight of her crush in her living room. Butterflies started filling up her stomach.

"Oh!" Scootaloo exclaimed. She grinned with awkward enthusiasm. "H-hey, Applebloom!"

"Hi, Scootaloo!" she replied happily. Scootaloo's heart rate increased tenfold at the sound of her southern farmer voice. It took everything inside Scootaloo not to just run up to her and plant a big, fat kiss on her lips right then and then.

The pegasus flashed a quick glance at her mother; she just winked at her, as if to tell her "Everything will be alright." Scootaloo sure hoped everything would be.

"So, why are you here?" questioned Scootaloo. Her eyes immediately became wide and she started rambling. "Not that I don't want to see you, you're cool and everything, and I enjoy seeing you, I was just wondering, you know what I mean? Heh..."

Raising an eyebrow at her friend in confusion, she gave her answer. "We're havin' our sleepover t'night. Remember? Ah came here t'pick you up, heh." Applebloom looked down and shuffled her hooves nervously.

"Oh, yeah, the sleepover!" remembered Scootaloo. "Heh, I guess I must have...Forgotten."

"S'alright, Scoots."

Scootaloo noticed they were one crusader short. "Hey, where's Sweetie Belle?"

"Ah'm pickin' her up next. Ah just wanted t'come here 'n' git ya, first..." her voiced trailed off as she looked away to hide her flushed cheeks; the other wouldn't have noticed either way, since she was doing the same to conceal her faint blush.

The uncomfortable hush was too painful for Lulu. "Well, Scootaloo, I got your saddlebags and everything ready. IT's got your toiletries and whatnot. And don't forget to take your medication this time."

Scootaloo felt as if she got struck by a bolt of lightning; she did NOT want her mother talking about her medication right in front of the pony she loves. Quickly grabbing her bags, she hastily tried to get out of their before Applebloom could question anything. "Ooooookay, mom, will do. Let's go now Applebloom. See you tomorrow, mom!"

In a blink of an eye, Scootaloo and Applebloom were out of the house and quickly trotting off toward Carousel Boutique, leaving Applebloom a bit frazzled and puzzled and it piqued her curiosity. "Hey Scoots, what was she talkin' about?"

The pegasus stopped and looked down. She felt ashamed and didn't want her crush to think she was weird and different.

"I, uh...I have...I have ADHD..."

This didn't help that much. "What's that?"

"It stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." Scootaloo explained. "In other words, if I don't take these pills every day, then I...I get really hyper and it's hard for me to focus on anything for long...Basically I turn into something like Pinkie Pie"

"Oh...I see..."

Sighing in shame, she softly said, "I hope you don't think I'm weird or anything..."

Applebloom frowned as she walked up to her friend, and placed a hoof around her neck. It was a struggle for her to talk considering how warm and fuzzy she was feeling inside from being so close to Scootaloo. "Of course ah don't, silly filly. It ain't your fault, you were born with it."

Scootaloo found it hard to concentrate as well as her friend's scent drifted into her nostrils. _My goodness, she smells so heavenly. Like freshly picked apples._ She just barely caught what she had said. "Th-thanks, Applebloom...You're a wonderful friend..."

Applebloom's heart nearly melted at her friend's comment. "You're welcome...And thank you."

Several moments passed, till finally Scootaloo spoke up. "Um...We should get going to get Sweetie."

"Oh!" Applebloom snapped out of her trance. "Heh, right. Well then, let's git goin'."

The rest of the trip to Carousel Boutique was in awkward silence. Both of the fillies' minds were on each other.

_I think I might just go insane if I don't just tell her already _thought Scootaloo. _I need to find the right moment tonight to open up my feelings to her...I just hope she feels the same for me. No, scratch that; I don't mind if she doesn't feel the same, I just hope it doesn't ruin our friendship._

_Ah gotta git a hold of myself _thought Applebloom. _Ah gotta tell her, and soon. Sweetie Belle's usually first t'fall asleep, so hopefully there'll be some time where it'll just me 'n' Scootaloo. Oh Celestia, if she don't like me like Ah like her, ah just hope it won't ruin our friendship._

Their pondering made what was in reality 20 minute trip feel like a minute long. They were both surprised when they realized that they had made it without noticing. Snapping out of her daze, Scootaloo walked up to the door to knock; it opened before she had a chance, though.

"Hey, girls!" Sweetie Belle greeted her fellow crusaders.

"Hi, Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo replied. "Are ya ready for the best sleepover ever?"

"Totally! Tonight's the night we finally get our cutie marks!"

All three cheered, making Sweetie Belle aware of Applebloom's presence.

"...Hey Applebloom."

Applebloom went blank. "Hi..."

"I'm sorry about that argument earlier..."

A smile crept on the farmer's face. "It's alright, Sweetie. It ain't that big of a deal."

"Girls, enough of this mushy stuff." Scootaloo interrupted. "Let's get this sleepover started!"

All three of them clopped their forehoofs together and shouted, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SLEEPOVER AT SWEET APPLE ACRES! YAAAAAAAAAAY!"

With that, they all bolted down the road leading toward the farm for a night of play and fun, Celestia's sun setting beneath the horizon. Applebloom and Scootaloo both decided to themselves that they did not want their feelings get in the way of what was going to be a great night. They can worry about those things some other time.


	3. Chapter III

**BAM!**

Granny Smith squealed in fright as the door to the Apple family's home burst open as three fillies stampeded into the living room, their beings filled with excitement.

"You crazy fillies dang near put me in mah grave!" the senile mare hollered.

Applebloom refocused her attention for the slightest of moments to quickly give her an apology, immediately focusing back on the two other fillies with her.

"So, what do y'all feel like doin'?" the yellow pony asked her two peers.

Sniffing the air around them, they became aware of the apple aroma airborne. With a rumble of their tummies, their hunger also made its presence.

"That sure smells delicious," commented Sweetie. "Don't know about you two, but I'm starving."

A familiar voice with of Applejack called from the kitchen. "Well git on over here, Cutie Mark Crusaders, there's plentya food!"

The trio trotted into the kitchen, and with wide eyes, saw that 'plentya food' was exactly correct. Placed on the long, rectangular table that sat in the middle of the room was a buffet of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. There was hay and daisies for anypony who wanted a salad, but everything else, naturally, was apple related; apple fritters, chicken and apple curry, apple pies, apple cookies, apple muffins, and tons more. Each meal was served in quantities that assured no matter how much everypony ate that dinner, there would still leftovers.

With watering mouths and grumbling stomaches, the three took their seats in the open chairs reserved just for them. Scootaloo raced to get the middle seat so she would be able to sit next to her crush, but Sweetie Belle took it before she could much to her disappointment. So she settled sitting between her on the left and Big Macintosh on the right. She apprehensively gazed up at him; his large build intimidated her.

"Ya okay there?"

Scootaloo was snapped out of her daze by the stallion's deep, soothing voice. "Oh, Sorry Big Mac, I was...Thinking."

The red pony simply chuckled and replied with his signature, "Eeyup."

When the rest of the Apple family took their seats, the three hungry fillies immediately dove into the food.

"Hold on there, girls!" Applejack said. "We gotta say our blessings."

They all groaned in frustration and sat back in their chairs. Everypony closed their eyes and started the prayer simultaneously.

"In the name of the princess, the sibling, and all Equestria, Amen."

From this point on, Applejack lead the rest:

"Thank you for the food we eat,  
>Thank you for the land so sweet.<br>Thank you for the birds that sing,  
>Thank you Celestia for everything.<br>Amen."

Everypony: "Amen."

"Alright, let's dig in!" Sweetie Belle shouted, and the three did not hesitate to grab anything that was in legs reach of them.

"Slow down you three, you're in no rush!" Granny Smith told them.

Of course, this did not hinder the trio, but contrarily it gave Sweetie Belle an idea.

"Hey you guys!" she exclaimed. "We should have a pie eating contest!"

"A what?" the two crushing fillies asked at the same time.

"You heard me, a pie eating contest! Whoever can eat the most apple pies wins!"

"Oh, that sounds awesome!" Scootaloo said.

"'N' maybe we'll find our cutie marks, too!" Applebloom added. "We'll be...Competitive pie eaters!"

"YAY!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders all shouted together. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS COMPETITIVE PIE EATERS!"

"Now that don't sound like a smart idea at awll." informed Applejack in a serious tone. Though her sternness was transparent as her lips were curled in a small smirk.

"Oh Applejack," Granny Smith chimed in calmly. "They're just fillies being fillies; let'em live a lil'."

Before Applejack could protest, the three eager fillies each had already grabbed a pan of apple pie, each of which was divided in sixths. Sighing, Applejack gave in. "Alright, but don't come cryin' t'me when yer tummies start hurtin'!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just get going!" Scootaloo enthusiastically impetrated, to which the other crusaders nodded their heads in agreement, all hovering over their pans ready to chow down.

"Alright, alright, settle down now." Applejack replied as she prepared to count them down.

"On your mark...Get set...GO!"

Almost instantaneously the Cutie Mark Crusaders all began to stuff their mouths with the delicious pastry. Scootaloo went head first into the dish, eating everything she could. The audience at the table all just chuckled at the sight and went about making light conversation with each other.

Each of the fillies didn't dare look up and check how their competitors; they just put all their energy into eating as much as possible. If one of them had checked, they would have noticed that Applebloom was in the lead with Scootaloo behind by a hair. She had only two pieces left of the first pan, whereas Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had 2 and a half and 3 and a half respectively.

Their little bellies began to become full, and their jaws began to ache from chewing so excessively, causing the white filly to back down early, clenching her stomach in pain. The other two, however, persevered through it. Each of them were on their second pan now, with Applebloom still in the lead. Scootaloo—like her idol Rainbow Dash—didn't always handle defeat well. As a result, Scootaloo kicked it into overdrive, shoving her mouth with all she could get. Her face was covered with bits of pie pieces but she didn't care, she just wanted to be victorious. Her focus was so high that at first she didn't notice that her crush had halted abruptly and was beginning to gag.

"APPLEBLOOM!" shouted Applejack, knocking Scootaloo out of her trance. Hearing the choking sounds coming from the one she loved, she turned to see that Applebloom's face had become a light shade of lavender and was holding her forehooves up to her neck.

With a gasp of pure fear, Scootaloo bolted from her seat and got behind Applebloom. "I gotcha, Applebloom!" she declared as she wrapped her hooves around her underbelly from behind, holding her up, and began to squeeze sharply. There was a brief moment where she realized that she was hugging her crush and began to feel her face flush; but she abandon those thoughts to pay more attention on saving Applebloom's life.

All the others who were in the room were as scared as Scootaloo was. Granny Smith was standing up with her eyes close, silently yet forcefully praying to Celestia. Applejack was pacing around borderline hysterically terrified that her baby sister may die before her eyes. Big Macintosh, being the stoic pony that he was, stood there and just watched, yet the worry in his eyes was clear as day. Sweetie Belle, who had gone down on the floor clutching her tummy, was rambling nervous gibberish.

With her eyes clenched tightly, Scootaloo blocked all of those things out. _Please! Oh Celestia, please!_ Scootaloo desperately cried in her head. _Don't die on me! Please, please, please!_

**Chaaaakkkk!**

Up came the wad of apple pie that nearly took Applebloom's life out onto the table in front of them. She began to suck in the air violently, relieved to be alive. Everypony in the kitchen nearly melted with joy knowing that she was alright, and started giving various comments about how worried they were and how much they loved her.

Everypony except Scootaloo; she was still gripping Applebloom tightly, squeezing forcefully. She had tears escaping her shut eyelids and rolling down her cheeks.

"Ah! ScoOOHtalooOHH I'm fIIne!" the choking victim informed through Scootaloo's thrusts. "ScootaloOOO!"

Her eyes shot open. All she could hear were her labored breaths of panic and her heart thumping wildly in her ears. She stared up at the kitchen ceiling for a few seconds in a state of confusion; everything happened so fast she wasn't sure how the situation turned out.

Her head finally went down and saw that Applebloom had her eyes fixated on her. Scootaloo was so grateful and ecstatic that she stood there frozen for a moment, speechless.

Then, she felt herself falling backwards as her world went pitch black.

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

_Eventually, both of them slowly and carefully inched their heads closer to each other. Both their heart's were pounding violently as they felt each other's warm breath. _

_Finally, they both closed their eyes, and..._

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

Scootaloo's eyes burst open violently. Her breathing was labored as if she had just finished galloping a marathon, and she could feel droplets of sweat on her forehead.

With no recollection of the events that took place before, and with an odd sensation of déjà vu, she hastily darted her gaze around to try and make out where she was. The room was dim; a strip of amber light entering through an ajar door opposite of where she was lying made the place just barely discernible.

At the foot of the bed was a silhouetted figure sitting in a chair. The only clue from the figure that proved it was an animate object was the quiet, steady rhythm of relaxed breathing. Scootaloo had no idea as to what it could have been at first; then she realized the shape of two ovals that lazily hung above the top of the figure. This puzzled her briefly, until she deduced that the figure was—

"...Applebloom?"

The silhouette abruptly stirred at the name. Turning her head, Applebloom was able to just barely see that her friend was awake. She felt a big grin of joy and relief draw itself on her face.

"Scootaloo!" she exclaimed. "You're awake!"

Responding with a tiny chuckle, the memories of what happened came rushing back like a tsunami. The dinner; the apple pies; the contest; the stifled gags from a choking Applebloom; the worry; the fear...

"Where am I? What happened?" the pegasus filly asked.

"In mah room. You fainted back there, after..." Applebloom's voice disappeared into the black room. "...After savin' mah life..."

A silence filled the room as the pegasus' thoughts went blank momentarily. Applebloom slowly got up from her chair and climbed up onto the mattress. Scootaloo could feel her hurriedly crawling across to sit next to her savior. Both of them were thankful for the dark setting, for their cheeks began to burn.

The quiet became more uncomfortable as they sat together. Neither of them knew where to go from there, even though Scootaloo had a bunch of questions.

"Umm..." Scootaloo awkwardly began. "Where's Sweetie Belle?"

"Oh, she's on the floor over there." responded Applebloom, pointed over to the other side of the room. "She's bin sleepin' fer a long while, now."

_A long while?_

"How long was I out for, Applebloom?"

"Well, it's 11:30 now—"

_11:30?_

"—So roughly 'bout four hours."

Scootaloo let the information sink into her for a moment while she shifted into an upright sitting position.

"So you're okay and everything, right?"

A single tear rolled down Applebloom's cheek, which to her luck was shrouded by the darkness. She pulled her fellow crusader into a tender embrace, her embarrassment and tingling sensation evaporating for the moment.

Scootaloo was startled at first, but slowly returned the hug. Her heart began to pound in her chest and her mind started to race.

She tried to make the scene a little less serious with a facetious, "So is that a yes?"

Applebloom stifled a giggle, and broke the hug. "Ah'll always be thankful fer what ya did, Scoots."

Scootaloo smiled as another pause in their conversation went by, this one being more comfortable and at ease.

After a while went by, Scootaloo let out a long yawn. "Man, I guess four hours of sleep wasn't enough for me 'cause I'm still tired, heh. I guess I'll get out of your bed so you can sleep in it."

Scootaloo began to get off the bed, but felt a hoof fall on her shoulder stopping her. "Actually..." Applebloom apprehensively started. "Ah was thinkin' that maybe...We could sleep together..."

Scootaloo's cheeks began to burn and sting like lava in response to the filly's request. With a gulp and deep breath, she replied. "I'd love to, Applebloom."

With that, both of them got themselves situated underneath the blankets into positions that felt the most comfortable. Much to both of their chagrin, they ended up lying on their sides facing the same direction, creating an awkward spooning position. Applebloom at first stayed back from her friend, but boldly scooted closer and closer, till both of them were bunched together. The feeling of Applebloom's underbelly on Scootaloo's back and her body heat that it emitted nearly drove her mad.

Scootaloo cleared her throat, and said, "Well, goodnight, Applebloom."

"Goodnight, Scootaloo."

Both of them tried pushing their embarrassment aside so they could fall asleep. They closed their eyes and slowly awaited for the sandman to take them away.

A soft, almost inaudible whisper from the farmer filly interrupted the process briefly.

"...Ah love you."

Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat and thought she imagined it. "Wh-what was that?"

"Nothin'." Applebloom sharply responded.


	4. Chapter IV

A ray of morning sunlight sliced through the bedroom window and landed right on Scootaloo's sleeping eyelids, causing her to stir and awake from her slumber. Her eyes slowly opened as she took in a quiet yawn. She could make out a figure in front of her, but because of her blurry vision, it was unrecognizable. It didn't take too long to realize what was it was, though; lying just inches from her face was Applebloom's.

Scootaloo froze in fear. Her crush was still sleeping soundly. Her hot, warm breath was blowing on her own muzzle and mouth every few seconds. It intoxicated her and made her lightheaded; it felt wonderful. Applebloom had a tiny smile on her face that made Scootaloo's heart melt. Her automatic reaction was to just close the gap between the two of them and plant a big, wet kiss on her lips, but she controlled herself. Soon her sleeping friend's face morphed into a scrunched up frown that pressed against her nose. Her mouth opened, and—

**Achoo!**

Scootaloo was sprayed in the face by a fusillade of tiny germs and rolled backwards, falling off the precipice of the bed with a loud thud on the floor.

"Wha?" Applebloom shouted in surprise, waking from her sleep. "Who's there?"

"Owww! It's me, Applebloom!"

Said filly rubbed her eyes real quick, then leaned over to see her friend massaging her head.

"Oh, sorry, Scootaloo, I forgot about ya, heheh." When her friend didn't respond right away, her humor died. She crawled out from underneath the covers and got on the floor with her, putting a hoof around her shoulder. "Hey, are ya ok, Scoots?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm al—" Her sentence was stopped short as she realized how close she was with her crush once again. She gulped. "Umm, yeah, I'm fine, Applebloom."

Both of them smiled and stared at each other for a moment, both of them blushing. Once again, that urge to just smooch Applebloom came back, but she just barely kept it under control.

"Finally you two are awake!"

Applejack's voice knocked the two lovebirds out of their daze. She already had a sheen of sweat as if she just got finished doing some labor out on the fields. "Oh, by th'way, Rarity came by t'git Sweetie Belle earlier; somethin' 'bout brunch with the family, I b'lieve."

The two looked over at where Sweetie had fallen asleep the previous night, and sure enough, the blankets and pillows were all gone and so was she. This realization added to both the fillies' anxiety; they didn't know how to socialize with each other without having Sweetie Belle there to act as a buffer.

_Oh brother; today's gonna be a long day_ thought Scootaloo.

_Oh well, at least ah'll be with just Scoots today_ thought Applebloom. _Maybe ah can work up the courage to tell her 'bout my feelings._

"Well c'mon, we got breakfast for th'two of ya downstairs!"

No words were able to describe the nervous tension between the two fillies throughout the time they ate their breakfast. They were able to eventually break the ice toward the end of the meal, and when they did dishes, they were back to their old, playful selves. They partook in a bubbly battle, splashing water on each other and making a mess of the kitchen, which they had to clean up afterward.

Applebloom was the first to notice Scootaloo's oddly chipper and energetic behavior, and brought it up when the two of them were cleaning up the kitchen floors.

"You're actin' real silly, Scoots. Like hyper almost."

"Oh shoot!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Oh man, I forgot about my medication. Ugh, my mom is gonna be so mad, but it's too late to take it now; it's almost noon."

"Well, Ah kinda like you this way," replied Applebloom "Ah like seein' you happy; it makes me happy."

Scootaloo was too wound up to take in her friend's comment to heart, and simply just thanked her with a giggle.

"Hey Scoots, ah hardly every git to go to your place; why don't we go there after we're finished cleaning this here floor?"

Scootaloo gasped in excitement. "That's a GREAT idea, Applebloom! I mean, my place isn't as cool as yours, but I can still show you my room and whatnot." She tossed the sponge she was using to clean the floor up in the air in joy. "Wooo, I can't wait!"

Applebloom silently chuckled to herself. _Perhaps tellin' her mah feelings when she's like this isn't the best idea..._

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

The orange pegasus filly hopped through the front door of her home full of liveliness, as if she were the spawn of Pinkie Pie. It warmed Applebloom's heart to see her friend and crush so chipper, even if it was somewhat out of the ordinary. As stated before, she just enjoyed her being happy, which in turn made her happy.

The interior of the house was cool and crisp in contrast to the bright, warm weather. Applebloom would have rather stayed outside and played, but she figured whatever would make her crush happy is what she would do. If that something was going to her home and hanging out in her bedroom watching TV, then so be it. As long as she was with Scootaloo, it didn't really matter to her.

"Where'r your parents, Scoots?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," Scootaloo responded quickly. "Probably out doing stuff or whatever."

"I'm in here, sweetie." called Scooter from the kitchen in the other room.

"Oh hi, dad! Applebloom and I are just gonna hang out here for a little while and whatnot if that's alright with you, is it alright with you?"

Scooter emerged from the kitchen and chuckled. "Forgot your meds?"

This made Scootaloo rub her hoof against her leg and look down sheepishly. She knew her parents got upset whenever she didn't take her medication. Her father was more lenient, however, partially because his belief that she doesn't need to be medicated if she doesn't want to.

"I won't tell mom."

Scootaloo's face lit up. "Oh thank you, daddy! I promise it won't happen again. Where is mom anyway?"

"It's fine, sweetie. And your mother planned a day with her marefriend's all day today, so she'll be gone for pretty much the entire day until this evening. What are you and your friend—Applebloom, right?" said filly nodded. "—Applebloom going to do?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. We're just going to hang out here for a bit, play some games, not much." she informed her father.

Scooter sat down in a hoof chair and picked up a book on the end table. "Alright, well I'm just going to be reading out here in the living room in case you need me for anything."

Click!

He looked up to see that his daughter and her friend had already bolted to her room, the noise coming from her closing the door. He just silently chuckled to himself and went on reading the novel he picked up.

~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~ ~/~

Click!

Scootaloo shut the door behind her as Applebloom continued into the room.

"So, what do ya want to—WAH!"

The pegasus pony had snuck up behind and tackled her onto the bed, where she commenced a tickle fight.

"Ahhahah! Scootaloo, enough!" Applebloom cried in mock desperation and terror. She returned fire on her friend, which caused her to roll over laughing. The two of them rustled and tumbled on the bed, tickling the other, laughing out loud like two hyenas.

"Applebloohoohoohoom! Ahahaha, I'm gonnahahahahaha I'm gonna wet myself ahaha!"

"You stohahahahop! Ah'm gonna peeheheheee too! Time out, time out!"

"Alright, alright, I'm stopping! I'm stopping!"

The two backed away from each other and lied on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as they let out labored breaths of air. Scootaloo's mind was too busy to keep a thought for very long, but Applebloom felt fuzzy inside from being so close to her crush. All she wanted to do was stay wrapped around her best friend's arms forever. Their breathing and giggles began to calm down until they were almost nonexistent. Scootaloo took the opportunity right away.

"TIME IN!"

The pegasus filly tackled her friend and began tickling her yet again. Applebloom was caught off guard, but soon returned the attack. They rolled around as they laughed their flanks off. All of a sudden, Scootaloo felt herself beginning to roll off the foot of her bed. "Oh shoot! Applebloom!"

Applebloom gasped, extending her hoof out to her friend to prevent her from falling, but it was too late. Scootaloo began the short decent, taking Applebloom with her. Both of them braced for the inevitable impact, which finally arrived. Applebloom was above Scootaloo, and she opened her eyes right as her friend hit the floor. Time seemed to slow down as she knew what was going to happen. When she finally landed on her friend, both of their lips accidentally connected with each other.

The two fillies had their eyes wide with shock, lying in a state of disbelief of what had just happened. They thought they were dreaming. It couldn't be actually happening. They were kissing each other! But they were in reality, and their lips were very much together, both tensed up from apprehension of what was going to go down from that point on. Scootaloo's mind was racing; Applebloom's heart was pounding; Scootaloo was quivering slightly with anxiety; Applebloom was starting to have cold sweat.

Finally, Scootaloo closed her eyes and leaned further into the kiss, accepting it. Applebloom was stayed still for a moment longer, but gave into temptation at last. The two of them—even though they didn't know about tongue-kissing—kissed passionately nevertheless, hugging the other tightly. Days went by until they came to a stop; or that's how it felt to them. Really, it was five seconds or so.

They both got up and sat down next to each other on their rears, unsure of what to do or say next. But in the end, Scootaloo was the one to break the tension.

"...I've wanted to do that for a while now..."

"...Me too, Scoots..."

Bright red blushes formed in their cheeks as they mentally danced around in joy, feeling the happiest they both had ever felt.

"...Ah think—no...I know...that I love you, Scoots..."

Scootaloo wanted to burst into tears of happiness. "I love you too, Applebloom."

The two hesitantly leaned in again and shared another brief, passionate make-out session, this time with more fire. This time, Scootaloo couldn't hold back tears anymore, and she began to cry silently as the two kissed. The two were elated; Applebloom felt as if her life was complete now; Scootaloo felt that if she died tomorrow, she would die happy and satisfied.

"Honey, I heard something loud fall, is everyth—"

The fillies opened their eyes and slowly turned around. Scooter was standing in the threshold of his daughter's room, mouth agape and eyes wide with shock. That quickly changed to a look of anger and fury.

The two sat there in pure terror and fear, as if they had just been caught murdering another pony.


End file.
